Variable Restriction for Flow Measurement

ABSTRACT

A system comprises a flow restrictor connected to a fluid flow path and located upstream from a chamber. The flow restrictor comprises an adjustable flow restriction aperture defined by the flow path region between a first element and a second element of the flow restrictor, and a drive unit configured to adjust the relative positions of the first element, second element or both to modify the fluid flow path across the aperture. The first or second element provides a curved boundary in the aperture flow path to form a converging region, a region of closest approach and a diverging region, within the flow path. Flow rate may be determined using a reference volume upstream from the flow restrictor.

PRIORITY CLAIM AND CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Stage application of the International application No. PCT/US17/52346, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/396,809, filed Sep. 19, 2016, entitled as “System and Methods for Reference Volume for Flow Calibration”, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/396,808, filed on Sep. 19, 2016, entitled as System, Apparatus and Methods for Variable Restriction for Flow Measurements and U.S. Provisional application No. 62/396,807, filed on Sep. 19, 2016, entitled as apparatus and Methods for Self-Correcting Pressure based mass flow controller, each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Flow systems may operate by modulating a fluid pressure upstream of a flow restricting structure. Expanding the magnitude of flow range in such systems can be challenging. To that end, present disclosure generally relates to flow control systems, methods employing flow restrictors that can accurately regulate flow magnitudes.

SUMMARY

In an exemplary embodiment, a flow system comprises a fluid flow path connected to a reaction chamber, at least one sensor connected to the fluid flow path, and configured to generate signals based on flow of fluid past the at least one sensor. A flow restrictor is connected to the fluid flow path and located upstream from the chamber.

The flow restrictor may comprise an adjustable flow restriction aperture defined by the flow path region between a first element and a second element of the flow restrictor. A drive unit may be configured to adjust the relative positioning of the elements to modify the fluid flow path across the aperture. In particular, the first or second element may provide a curved boundary in the aperture flow path to form a converging region, a region of closest approach and a diverging region, within the flow path. The system can comprise a controller configured to receive signals from the at least one sensor and control the flow exiting the flow restrictor based on the signals.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method of providing variable flow restriction measurement comprises providing a flow restrictor upstream from a reaction chamber where the flow restrictor comprising an adjustable flow restriction aperture. A first flow rate is selected which corresponds to a first aperture setting. The fluid flow rate upstream from the aperture is then measured to determine a verified flow rate through the aperture. The selected flow rate is compared with the verified flow rate and the aperture is setting is changed based on the error between the flows rates.

In yet another embodiment, the flow restrictor comprises a drive unit configured to adjust the relative positions of the elements. The drive unit may comprise a feedback loop for continuously monitoring and adjusting the relative positions of the elements to maintain a flow rate the chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of the elements in a flow restrictor, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the elements in a flow restrictor, according to another exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the elements in a flow restrictor, according to yet another exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a first element and a second element, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of a first element and a second element, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5, is a partial cross-sectional view of a first element and a second element, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of a flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of a flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6C is a schematic diagram of a flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a mass flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a mass flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a mass flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a mass flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a mass flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram corresponding to a method of operating a flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram corresponding to a method of operating a flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram corresponding to a method of operating a flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram corresponding to a method of operating a flow system, according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Flow control systems and methods are often used in semiconductor manufacturing processes where a gas supply is provided to a reaction chamber at a controlled rate. In particular, Fluid mass flow control apparatus can operate by modulating a fluid pressure upstream of a flow restricting aperture which may adopt several different architectures. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment the system depicted in FIG. 6A comprises a flow line 110 connected to a mass flow controller 112 and a reaction chamber 300. As shown, and in view of the fluid flow direction 10, the flow restrictor 100 and sensor(s) 200 in the mass flow controller 112 are located upstream from the chamber 300. Here and in the other figures provided in this disclosure, “sensor(s)” refers to one or more sensors even though in some instances only one sensor is depicted. Moreover, the sensor(s) can comprise, temperature sensors, pressure sensors or any other variable sensors typically employed in flow systems. Additionally, the chamber may denote essentially any reaction chamber common in the industry, including vacuum chambers. Finally, any references to “fluid” or “fluids” encompasses materials which are in a gaseous phase under certain temperature and pressure conditions, despite whether such materials are gaseous under other ambient conditions. Thus, for instance, fluids may include water vapor or boron trichloride (BCl₃), as well as other common gaseous materials such as silane (SiH₄), argon and nitrogen. Returning to the figures, FIGS. 6A and 6B, depict flow systems, where the sensor(s) 200 are upstream and downstream from the flow restrictor 100, respectively. Similarly, FIG. 6C illustrates an exemplary embodiment, where sensors(s) 200 are located both upstream and downstream from the flow restrictor 100. Additionally, the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 6A-6C, include a controller 114, connected to the sensor(s) 200 and the flow restrictor 100.

In the exemplary embodiments, the flow restrictor is configured to adjustably manage the flow rate of gas to a reaction chamber. Accordingly, the exemplary flow restrictor 100 shown in FIG. 7, comprises a drive unit 140 which adjusts the flow restriction aperture 120. In the exemplary embodiments, the flow restriction may comprise a flow path which may be shaped by one or more elements. The element(s) may assume a variety of geometric shapes as further discussed below. In the exemplary embodiments provided in FIGS. 8 and 9, the flow restriction aperture 120 comprises a first element 122 and a second element 124, which are positioned with the drive unit 140.

The exemplary embodiments enable measuring instantaneous fluid flow rate using the temperature and pressure of the fluid upstream of the flow restriction aperture. Since volumetric flow through an aperture is primarily driven by pressure drop across the aperture, and fluid density at a specific temperature increases with increasing pressure, the pressure dependent mass flow through an aperture behaves according to a product of the square-root of pressure drop and inlet pressure. A distinction is often made between operating regimes wherein the pressure drop amounts to more than about half the absolute inlet pressure. The specifics of this critical ratio depend upon properties of the gas and whether the flow is considered compressible or incompressible. Nonetheless, when the ratio of upstream to downstream absolute pressures is greater than about two to one the flow is often referred to as choked (the velocity through the aperture being equal to the speed of sound in the gas) and less than two to one may be called sub-critical or un-choked. Mass flow in choked conditions is nearly linear with inlet pressure while significantly nonlinear is sub-critical conditions. This behavior makes for difficulties achieving a wide dynamic range.

Flow restriction may be achieved using restricting apertures to expand the range of flow magnitudes that may be accurately controlled by a single device. One example includes a direct touch type metal diaphragm valve positioned by a stepping motor and a ball screw mechanism wherein a ring-shaped gap between the valve seat and the diaphragm serves as the variable aperture. However, viscous flow through the aperture and the sonic flow out of the ring-shaped gap need to be accounted for. Since in such designs the pressure drop can be a cubic function of the gap height, appropriate flow calculation using the upstream pressure may not yield accurate results.

Generally, instantaneous flow calculations can be particularly difficult in low flow rate regimes where the valve openings are very small and the viscous forces are significant. To that end, the exemplary embodiments provide flow restrictors comprising mechanically adjustable flow restriction apertures, which are designed to mitigate the viscosity issue, among other things. As mentioned earlier, a flow restriction aperture may be formed from one or more elements. In an exemplary embodiment, the adjustable flow restriction aperture is defined by the flow path region between a first element and a second element of the flow restrictor. The shape and the relative position of the element(s) may be used to determine the flow characteristics through a restrictor.

In exemplary embodiments, the adjustable flow restriction aperture may be seen as comprised of two main elements when viewed in cross-section. For instance, as shown in FIG. 5, the first element 20 provides a curved boundary and the second element 30 provides a substantially straight boundary to fluid flowing in direction 10. As illustrated, the curved boundary of the first element 20 faces the straight boundary of the second element 30, such that the fluid flow path has a flow converging region 60, a region where the boundaries are closest to each other (closest approach) 80, and a flow diverging region 50. Significantly, the straight wall of the second element 30 facing the generally curved wall of the first element 20 results in a closest approach region 80 which has effectively no flow path length along the flow direction within the aperture. This absence of flow path length at the region of closest approach can mitigate the viscous flow problem when modeling pressure drop for a system utilizing a flow restrictor.

The fluid flow path, including the gap size, may be modified by adjusting the relative position of the first 20 or second element 30. In the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 1-3, the positional adjustment 40 of the second element 30 with respect to the first element 20 adjusts the flow width in the aperture. Furthermore, the elements 20, 30 may be tilted and revolved about an axis of symmetry 70, as shown in FIG. 4 to form an axisymmetric first 20 and second 30 element which are coaxially nested together.

In the exemplary embodiments, one element may be repositioned axially to increase or decrease a gap between it and the other element which remains fixed. In this scenario, the first element may be female in character and conical with a straight wall cross-section, while the second element may be male in character and have a generally spherical portion, and thus a curved cross section. Alternatively, the first element may be male in character and conical with a straight wall, while the second element may be female in character generally formed as a curved annular ring. The tapered wall of the conical element may be somewhat curved, rather than straight, provided that its curvature radius is substantially greater than the curvature radius of the curved annular ring element in order to preserve the converging to diverging flow path cross-section.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first element 20 is stationary with a curved cross-section, and the second element 30 is adjustable axially 40 as shown in FIG. 4B. The axially moveable element may be brought into precise coaxial alignment with the fixed element during device assembly. The moveable element may be suspended by a disk spring which is clamped at its outer periphery during apparatus assembly when the moveable element is fully nested into the fixed element (thus closing the valve).

As described earlier, the drive unit may comprise one or more actuators for adjusting the position of at least one element. The present disclosure contemplates essentially any actuator type suitable for carrying out the exemplary embodiments. Advantageously, the drive unit comprises a mechanically stiff actuator with low hysteresis which provides easy and repeatable positioning of the adjustable element. Other types of actuators include, but are not limited to, Piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, thermally activated micromachined silicon, or electromagnetic solenoid actuator (which may include a suitable mechanical linkage).

It may also be appreciated that, so long as there is no binding or rubbing between the adjustable and fixed elements, the relative motion between the two elements need only be generally axial in direction. For instance, a minor cant of one element axis relative to the other element axis can change the resulting aperture dimension from circular to elliptical. Nevertheless, the region of closest approach would still have effectively no flow length along the flow direction within the gap. This absence of flow path length obviates concerns about maintaining parallelism as needed in the case of flat plate flow restriction designs.

Sensing of actuator position may also prove beneficial in the design of positioning control systems. Position sensing may be accomplished by various techniques including, but not limited to, capacitive, inductive, optical sensing. In an exemplary embodiment, the drive unit comprises a stepper motor for setting the position of the adjustable element. Advantageously, such a mechanism could provide an easy and reliable method of adjusting the position of an adjustable element without requiring a position sensor or feedback.

In the exemplary embodiments, an in-situ flow rate verification may be performed using a pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) method of determining flow rates, which null any repeatability problems with the variable flow restriction and actuator whenever an adjustable aperture setting is changed. For instance, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the mass flow controller 112 comprises an outlet control valve 116 upstream from the sensor(s) 200 and the flow restrictor 100. This may be regarded as the flow controller subsystem 117, as indicated in FIG. 11. Additionally, the system comprises an inlet control valve 116 and sensors 200 located upstream from the inlet control valve 118, which permits calculations based on the reference volume 113. In particular, this flow verification subsystem can be used with a variety of verification protocols to provide correction schemes, which may be chosen according to additional situational data from within the mass flow controller. For example, a flow rate verification might be performed during the first five seconds of a thirty second processing step and the adjustable aperture setting then modified, in a manner that corrects any errors detected by the verification, for the remaining portion of the processing step. Alternatively, actuator position sensing may be presumed more stable and accurate than fluid temperature information and therefore indicated temperature modified in a manner that corrects any errors detected by the flow verification.

The flow diagrams in FIGS. 12-15 provide exemplary methods of operating a flow system, which comprises adjusting the flow through a flow restrictor. Accordingly, an exemplary embodiment comprises selecting a flow rate 400, verifying the flow rate 500 and performing necessary adjustments to the flow restrictor setting 600 as illustrated in FIG. 12. Per step 410, a system can be arranged with flow restrictor being located upstream from a reaction chamber as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. Here too, the flow line is connected valves and sensors upstream from the flow restrictor and a controller connected to the flow restrictor, valves and sensors. The flow rate through the flow restrictor may be selected, for example using a set point for the flow. Again, the flow restrictor can comprise an adjustable aperture connected to the drive unit where a first and a second element define the flow path of the aperture. Accordingly, per steps 420 and 430, the desired flow rate into the chamber may be selected, corresponding to a first aperture element position setting where the drive unit sets the relative position(s) of the element(s).

Next in 510 and 520, the flow rate of the fluid upstream from the flow restrictor is measured. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the fluid volume between the inlet control valve and the outlet control valve can be used, along with sensor data such as temperature and pressure, to calculate the flow rate. The resulting verified flow rate at the first aperture element setting being calculated in step 520 is then subsequently used for comparison.

The verified flow rate is then compared to the selected flow rate to determine the degree of error between rates, per 610 and 620. This error difference can be used in connected with to adjust the aperture size to correct for the difference in 630. For example, one of the elements in FIG. 4 may be repositioned to a second setting in the x, y or z axis to increase or decrease flow based on the difference. This process may be performed once or iterated until an acceptable error margin is reached. For instance, in an exemplary embodiment, following a verified flow calculation, the aperture setting is modified and again compared to the verified flow to determine if the error difference is acceptable.

Having thus described several aspects of the exemplary embodiments, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the scope of the embodiments. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only and are non-limiting. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a fluid flow path connected to a reaction chamber; at least one sensor connected to the fluid flow path, and configured to generate signals based on flow of fluid past the at least one sensor; a flow restrictor connected to the fluid flow path and located upstream from the chamber, the flow restrictor comprising, an adjustable flow restriction aperture defined by the flow path region between a first element and a second element of the flow restrictor, and a drive unit configured to adjust the relative positions of the first element, second element or both to modify the fluid flow path across the aperture; and a controller configured to receive signals from the at least one sensor and control the flow exiting the flow restrictor based on the signals; wherein the first or second element provides a curved boundary in the aperture flow path to form a converging region, a region of closest approach and a diverging region, within the flow path.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the flow restrictor is configured to adjust the position of the first element, the second element, or both.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the system is configured to increase flow rate exiting the flow restrictor in response to sensor signals indicating low flow rate into the chamber or back pressure from the chamber.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first element provides a curved boundary and the second element provides a straight boundary facing the curved boundary, in the aperture flow path.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the region of closest approach located between the first and second elements, does not provide effective fluid path length in the aperture flow path.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first element, the second element, or both are configured to tilt or revolve around an axis of symmetry to modify the aperture flow path.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first element is stationary, and the second element is configured to move axially to modify the width of the aperture flow path.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the drive unit comprises an actuator and a positional feedback loop.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to verify flow rate following adjustment of the aperture elements.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the flow system comprises sensors for sensing low flow rate or back pressure from the chamber.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the drive unit comprises a piezoelectric or a electromagnetic solenoid actuator.
 12. A method of providing variable flow restriction measurement, the method comprising: providing a flow restrictor upstream from a reaction chamber, the flow restrictor comprising an adjustable flow restriction aperture; selecting a first flow rate through the flow restrictor, the first flow rate corresponding to a first aperture setting; measuring fluid flow rate upstream from the aperture; determining a verified flow rate for the first aperture setting; comparing the selected flow rate with the verified flow rate; and adjusting the first aperture setting to a second setting which corresponds to the verified flow rate.
 13. The method of claim 12, comprising providing an inlet control valve and an outlet control valve upstream from the flow restrictor, the inlet valve being located upstream from the outlet valve, and determining the verified flow rate based on a reference volume available between the inlet control valve and outlet control valve.
 14. The method of claim 12, comprising connecting a first sensor to a flow line between the flow restrictor and the outlet control valve, and a second sensor to the flow line between the inlet control valve and the outlet control valve.
 15. A flow restrictor comprising: an adjustable flow restriction aperture defined by the flow path region between a first element and a second element of the flow restrictor, and a drive unit configured to adjust the relative positions of the first element, second element or both to modify the fluid flow path across the aperture, wherein the first or second element provides a curved boundary in the aperture flow path to form a converging region, a region of closest approach and a diverging region, within the flow path, and wherein the flow restrictor is configured to couple to a controller to adjust fluid flow exiting aperture based on sensor signals received by the controller.
 16. The device of claim 15, wherein the first element provides a curved boundary and the second element provides a straight boundary in the aperture flow path and the curved boundary faces the straight boundary.
 17. The device of claim 12, wherein both first and second elements provide curved boundaries in the aperture flow path, and the radius of curvature of the second element is greater than the radius of curvature of the first element.
 18. The device of claim 15, wherein the drive unit comprises an actuator.
 19. The device of claim 15, wherein the drive unit comprises a positional feedback loop.
 20. The device of claim 19, wherein the drive unit is configured to continuously adjust the position of at least one element. 